Editing Sogdia (section)

===Turkic conquests: Kara-Khanid Khanate (999–1212)===
[[File:Kara-Khanid ruler (sitting cross-legged on a throne), Afrasiab, circa 1200 CE.jpg|thumb|Detail of a Kara-Khanid ruler of Samarkand (sitting cross-legged on a throne in the complete reconstructed relief), [[Afrasiyab (Samarkand)|Afrasiab]], [[Samarkand]], circa 1200 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Karev |first1=Yury |title=Turko-Mongol rulers, cities and city life |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004257009 |pages=114–115|quote="The ceramics and monetary finds in the pavilion can be dated to no earlier than to the second half of the twelfth century, and more plausibly towards the end of that century. This is the only pavilion of those excavated that was decorated with paintings, which leave no doubt about the master of the place. (...) The whole artistic project was aimed at exalting the royal figure and the magnificence of his court. (...) the main scenes from the northern wall represents the ruler sitting cross-legged on a throne (see Figs 13, 14) (...) It was undoubtedly a private residence of the Qarakhanid ruler and his family and not a place for solemn receptions."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Frantz |first1=Grenet |title=Splendeurs des oasis d'Ouzbékistan |date=2022 |publisher=Louvre Editions |location=Paris |isbn=978-8412527858 |pages=221–222|quote="Peintures murales qui ornaient (...) la résidence privée des derniers souverains qarakhanides de Samarkande (fin du 12ième - début du 13ième siècle (...) le souverain assis, les jambes repliées sur le trône, tient une flèche, symbole du pouvoir (Fig.171)."}}</ref> It was possibly defaced in 1212 when the [[Khwarazmian Empire]] shah [[Muḥammad b. Tekish]] took over Samarkand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Karev |first1=Yury |title=Turko-Mongol rulers, cities and city life |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004257009 |page=120|quote="We cannot exclude the possibility that this action was related to the dramatic events of the year 1212, when Samarqand was taken by the Khwarazmshah Muḥammad b. Tekish."}}</ref>]]
In 999 the Samanid Empire was conquered by an Islamic Turkic power, the [[Kara-Khanid Khanate]] (840–1212).<ref>Hanks, Reuel R. (2010), ''Global Security Watch: Central Asia'', Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: Praeger, pp 4–5.</ref>

From 1212, the Kara-Khanids in Samarkand were conquered by the [[Khwarazmian Empire|Kwarazmians]]. Soon however, [[Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia|Khwarezmia was invaded]] by the early [[Mongol Empire]] and its ruler [[Genghis Khan]] [[Siege of Bukhara|destroyed]] the once vibrant cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.<ref>Sophie Ibbotson and Max Lovell-Hoare (2016), ''Uzbekistan'', 2nd edition, Bradt Travel Guides Ltd, pp 12–13, {{ISBN|978-1-78477-017-4}}.</ref> However, in 1370, Samarkand saw a revival as the capital of the [[Timurid Empire]]. The [[Turko-Mongol]] ruler [[Timur]] brought about the forced immigration to Samarkand of artisans and intellectuals from across Asia, transforming it not only into a trade hub but also into one of the most important cities of the Islamic world.<ref>Sophie Ibbotson and Max Lovell-Hoare (2016), ''Uzbekistan'', 2nd edition, Bradt Travel Guides Ltd, pp 14–15, {{ISBN|978-1-78477-017-4}}.</ref>